Cooler Weather Good Time For Warm Flavor Of Chili Italiano
Embrace autumn with all its magic. On cool weekday evenings or pleasant Sunday afternoons, stroll through leaf-strewn neighborhood streets and enjoy the beauty of your world.
It’s a time to breathe deeply as you exercise, and a time to appreciate not just the cool, crisp air, but the odors that drift from houses. What’s for dinner? Is it pot roast, baked chicken, spaghetti sauce?
We find ourselves more in the kitchen as we migrate indoors from the outside. Old recipes that are family favorites are pulled out. Cookbooks are scanned for new possibilities. Families come together for the evening meal ritual and a time of togetherness.
Familiar cool-weather foods become old friends to us again. We turn on slow-cookers and ovens; we fix soups and chilis and meat loaves.
Extra servings of weekend creations can become our weeknight meals, a time-saving relief. Those foods that we baked slowly and tended lovingly are so very much appreciated on school nights when our schedules are not so calm.
Invite family members’ participation for smoother mealtime preparation: one to slice the bread, another to toss the salad and one more to set the table.
Then come together, give thanks for changing seasons and partake of your family dinner.
Chili Italiano
Adapted from a recipe from S&W.
1/2-pound mild or hot reduced-fat Italian or turkey sausage
1/2-large green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 can (14.5 ounces) chopped tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) white beans, drained
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, drained
1/4-cup S&W Herb & Garlic Italian Cooking Sauce
Garnish (optional): shredded mozzarella cheese, Italian parsley
Brown sausage with green pepper and onion powder in a large pan or kettle; drain fat. Stir in tomatoes, beans and cooking sauce. Simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Spoon into serving bowls; top with shredded cheese and parsley, if desired.
Yield: 4-6 servings.
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